


Shades of Grey

by NevilleLongbottomDidNothingWrong



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Here's my attempt to make them...just a bit more interetsting, Let's be honest, The sequels were not that great, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:20:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28399113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NevilleLongbottomDidNothingWrong/pseuds/NevilleLongbottomDidNothingWrong
Summary: For every Skyguy, there's always a Snips....Except this time, the latest in the line has a few trips up his sleeve...Kylo Ren may want to kill the past, but the past isn't quite done with him yet...
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1: Trickster's Paradise

Revan Ren enjoyed days like today.

Days that involve him getting out and about to stretch his legs and greet some new friends. Today, those new friends were the Resistance fighters stationed on D’Qar. Revan and the other knights have heard about them personally, from General Hux himself in his debrief. Well, maybe debrief wasn’t the correct word; perhaps “screaming angrily and incoherently about puny Rebel wannabes and passing blame around like it was somehow anyone but his fault” was more apt. He even had the gall to call out the Knights for not being here, how it was somehow their fault for not staying to protect their precious secret weapon. Revan calmly responded by taking the Stormtroopers he had with them and lifting their bodies up with the Force, spinning their heads 180 degrees and dropping them to Hux’s sheer terror, apologizing for the fact they were on a special mission from Supreme Leader Snoke and how they thought that Kylo Ren, the supposed “strongest” of them, would be enough to handle an old man, a Wookie, a defector and a random _girl,_ and they would now deal with the problem themselves.

Hux quickly agreed and shuffled off somewhere to change his pants.

They didn’t really need the briefing, though, It was hard to miss the news that spread quickly of a large, actual planet sized superweapon that blew up pretty much most of the New Republic get taken out in spectacular fashion by a lone pilot from a well-placed shot in its reactor.

Now, where has he heard THAT one before?

Honestly, Revan couldn’t believe the state of inefficiency of this supposed superpower that was said to be even more ruthless than the Empire. So much power at their fingertips, and they swing it around like a tuantaun on happy pills. No finesse, no carefully planned details, they just look at the Empire and think “Oh! That looks neat! I wanna do that, but make it bigger! That’ll scare the people that have seen and blown it all up before.” Nothing exemplified that more than the dearly departed Starkiller Base. Revan could have laughed at the thought of it being a permanent solution and a symbol of fear to the Resistance, and he did. Repeatedly. He warned them that since they made it look like the Death Star to inspire that same fear from years past, they would come up with the exact same weakness as before, a weakness that the still serving Rebellion veterans could exploit. They didn’t listen, of course, their pride and bloodlust won out thinking that the sheer size and scale of destruction they wield would be enough to crush them all with a single stroke.

He laughed again, when he saw that those same people now were reduced to space dust floating around somewhere in the Bosnian system right now. It all felt like a kriffing joke to him, and the joke has gotten stale as it’s been repeated over and over and _over again._

There was one other detail about the fall of Starkiller that didn’t involve the Resistance nor the incompetence of a single-minded First Order. The knights didn’t really need a briefing on that, as they saw it written all over the deep scowl on the face of their fearless leader, and the fancy new scar adorned on it as well. Revan thanked the Living Force for his helmet and years of training to shield his thoughts and emotions, because the growing smirk and absolute glee at the sight of this Darth Vader-wannabe having a temper tantrum over getting his _shebs_ handed to him by a random desert rat with little to no training and leaving a mark on him would have caused normal men to fall on the floor laughing. However, it did peak his interest. While Revan had no love for the Skywalker legacy, especially its most recent, _annoying_ addition, he knew Kylo was no slouch. The fact that an untrained Force-user was able to get the upper hand on him grabbed his attention, and marked it down for further investigation. It helped when Kylo, in a fit of infant rage, screamed that he wanted that girl, and the Resistance, found and brought to him on their knees.

Kinky, but okay. They can do that.

But still, a random child on a barren desert world with power they never realized they had goes off on an adventure that ends up inadvertently destroying a weapon of mass destruction?

That joke’s been told twice now, but something feels… _different_ about this third time…

He would have to put that train of thought on hold, though, as the _Dominator_ (Revan begins to think with all these large ships and guns, the First Order might be overcompensating for something…) jumped out of hyperspace above the planet. He was on the bridge of the ship listening to the scurrying and hustling of various officers and gunners running to their positions. He was fiddling with a sonar beacon in his hands as he paid no mind to the commotion around him.

“Sir, we have reached D’Qar. Intelligence proves this to be the planet is the source of the Resistance fleet that destroyed Starkiller Base.” One officer told Hux, who had a sadistic smile on his face.

“Excellent. We shall make them PAY for what they’ve done to our prized possession. With one stroke, the Resistance will be no more, and now that there is no Republic to support them, the First Order shall bring TRUE peace, and…”

 _Blah, blah, blah, blah…_ Revan has probably heard this type of speech a thousand times by now, in many different variations and tones that assault his hidden lekku. It usually has something to do with how the First Order is superior to {blank}, how {blank} will pay and die and _whatever,_ how his whiny voice tries to reach a cadence that would appear commanding to the naked ear, but ends up sounding like a toddler telling a gundark to shove it. It’s not just him, but he’s the worst at it. Revan wonders if the Empire did the same thing, too, as he heard that the now legendary Grand Admiral Thrawn was an exceptionally talented leader that actually got results and respected his enemies rather than demean them and appear like an ass in the process. He even wonders if the Separatists were like this, all those years ago…

Well, actually, he knows they weren’t, if what his mother told him was correct. They actually had a justified reason for leaving, claiming their government was corrupt and wanted to stop their growing tyranny.

In the long run, it would appear they were right all along…

He felt the hot, raging pool of angst that was Kylo Ren marching into the hanger with a purpose, so he didn’t bother to look up.

“Are they there?” He demanded.

“Yes. They are centered at these coordinates.” Hux pointed to the map where the various blips of light were moving rapidly, indicating an attempted escape.

“Good. We will crush them for thinking they can withstand the might of the First Order. There shall be no mercy”

_Oh, noooo….come on, don’t do it. Be smarter than that, you idiot._

“With your command, we will send an orbital strike to decimate the entire camp. They will wiped out in seconds.”

_You all can’t be that stupid, surely you can’t…._

“You may fire when ready.”

_…Okay, never mind. You’re all idiots._

Hux turned to the gunners of the kyber cannons, aiming down at the camp high above the atmosphere. “Gunners, fire on the Resistance base. FULL POWER!”

_Welp….time to be the responsible one._

Before the gunners could press the button to launch their destructive bolts, their hands and fingers stopped and froze, and they couldn’t move. Then, they were thrown backwards from where they were, landing on the floor with a thud. Kylo Ren slowly turned to the man responsible, who casually stopped leaning on the wall and walked over toward the confused men.

“What is the meaning of this?” Kylo demanded angrily.

“This is me, being the only one here with a brain. If destroying an entire Resistance base and leaving nothing but a charred crater behind is your one and only way of dealing with them, then I’m starting to think them blowing up Starkiller wasn’t really a fluke.”

“They have been a plague to us for too long, and have destroyed our ultimate weapon against all odds! We have the opportunity to strike the final blow and end this. You would stop us from doing this?” Hux asked suspiciously.

Revan put a hand on his helmet, trying to keep his calm at just how _ridiculous_ this all is. The answer here SHOULD be obvious to even the dullest of jarheads here, but it would appear that anger has clouded their judgement, just like both his mother and master taught him.

Not Snoke, no, his _real_ Master…

He swears he just wants to take Kylo’s helmet and shove it down Hux’s throat, but given how this is a short window before they go at it again, he needs to hurry and get his point across. Heckling them can come later, and it _will_ come later. “First off, ‘against all odds?’ You can rag on about how that frozen relic was the greatest thing since the Death Star, but guess what? _It was just a bigger Death Star._ Complete with _juuuust_ the tiniest little hole that something could slip through and make it all go BOOM! You’d think we’d learn from their mistakes, but no, we just like the sound of the greatest hits, instead of being creative enough for something new, don’t we?”

Hux visibly scowled at the remark, but Revan paid him no mind. “And to you, scarface. You think I give two _osiks_ about if a bunch of ragtag rats being led by your mommy dearest and a half-decent pilot live? If it were any other day, I’d be right there with you on blowing the damn place into a fine dust. But it’s not just another day. It’s the day after they just proved that they’re a lot more equipped and trained than we thought. So if you think killing all of them is a good idea, then you’re about as shortsighted as granddaddy.”

THAT got a reaction, as Kylo’s Force signature went from simmering to blazing in a heartbeat as he got up helmet to helmet. Revan just smirked at him. It’s cute. It really was cute that he thinks he can scare people with that _stupid_ mask of his. Wherever he is in Force heaven, even Anakin would be embarrassed at this knockoff. “You have no right to even speak his name. I am the one in charge here, so I will decide what’s best—”

“The LAST time you were left in charge, we lost a planet-sized planet killer and you apparently got your ‘expertly trained by Luke Skywalker’ ass handed to you by a girl who never held a lightsaber before. So forgive me for being just slightly apprehensive about YOU think is best” Revan replied with ease. Oh, he really wanted him to do something. He practically begged it in the Force to try and make a move on him, just so he can stop the charade of kark he’s been laying ever since he got here. But Kylo, in a rare show of restraint, decided not to, but his Force signature was still brimming with hate. Typical. He could see Hux behind him, holding back the slightest upturn of his lips at his hated superior’s dressing down.

“Now, we CAN kill them” Revan continued, “but if we destroy the entire base, we lose all of its information. All their potential contacts throughout the rims, all their potential spies and moles lurking around here, their weapons dealers, their ship manufacturers, their plans, their other secret bases they probably all have, because _of course they do,_ and even their dating profiles! We could lose a pretty decent chunk of information because you couldn’t hold back that nasty rage of yours for longer than five seconds, and then we’d have even more problems. Problems we could have avoided because we took information from their computer,” He pointed to the planet, “down there.”

He looked to see if it finally clicked with them what he was suggesting. That was the problem here: too much power in the hands of vengeful children. They couldn’t see the bigger picture, only focused on a singular entity like an akul going after prey (he makes a note to go on another hunt when this is all over; he lost his akul headdress in a scuffle with a Dathomiran with a death wish a few years prior).

He continued. “If you two decide to play the long game for once, instead of a full bombardment, use one shot at that shield generator right there. They’ll be left defenseless, and no one gets to leave. You can have me and the knights, along with a few squads of stormtroopers, go down there afterwards and….’politely’ ask for all their secrets. I may have to kill a few…or half…or most…but I can guarantee it’ll be a LOT more productive than what you two want.”

The whole bridge went silent as Revan finished his proposal, awaiting orders from any of the clashing men. Revan could feel the anger of both of them being told that their plan was idiotic (they should be happy that he doesn’t like them enough to hang with them more, because they’d hear about it much more frequently from him), but he could tell that they considered it and backed off. Good. Finally, they can have a bit of progress around here.

Kylo broke the whole awkward silence first. “Very well then. Go down to the surface and get everything you can from them, since you consider this a better plan than _erasing_ the problem entirely.” He leaned down further onto the younger masked man. “Do. Not. Fail. Me.” He made for the door. But Revan really couldn’t help himself. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Skyguy! If I see her down there, I’ll tell your girlfriend you said hello!”

Kylo halted at the door, his feelings a maelstrom of violence directed solely at Revan, and he relished the feeling. He wonders if this is what his mom felt when she did this to…

The feeling didn’t last as the man continued out the door and it closed behind him. Revan turned back to Hux. “Well, you just got your permission, carrottop. Bring their defenses down, and we’ll go introduce ourselves.” He turned to leave as well.

Hux, bristling from the nickname, called out. “You had better know what you are doing!”

Revan chuckled. “Huxie, baby, I’m several steps ahead.” He left the bridge to get the knights and soldiers ready.

CWCWCW

_No right to even speak his name, huh?_ Revan chuckled at the thought. If he wanted to get technical, he had more of a right than that privileged brat ever would. He had a link with the Chosen One that Ben could never understand, or rather, he WOULD understand if he got over his obsession with Vader to look at the tragic man underneath that wrecked mask he keeps talking to all by his lonesome (really, he thinks he’s slick thinking that people don’t walk by that room and give off looks like he belongs in a psyche ward talking to that thing).

Revan also doesn’t understand _why_ he’s obsessed in the first place. His parents and uncle were on the front lines of the Galactic Civil War, coupled with all the preserved Jedi knowledge the husk of the man once known as Luke Skywalker had stored up at his Temple. Theoretically, he should have a very detailed timeline of the slave boy’s descent into self-caused sorrow and how it wasn’t exactly the most…. _inspiring_ path to follow. He also probably got some less than stellar opinions about the Sith from his mom and dad, as one watched him give the go-ahead to blowing up her adopted home world, and the other giving him a carbonite cleansing, not to mention all the things he put his own son through, and practically every other war crime he performed before and after becoming a Sith. So, how in the kriffing Sith hells did that kid think that Vader was some messiah to set his own path down. Hell, Anakin Skywalker wasn’t that much of an inspiration, his own pride and selfishness getting the best of him sometimes, even blinding him to believe Darth Sidious’ little white lies of ensuring his beloved wife’s safety.

Granted, he knew exactly why he was so eager to jump sides, and that was thanks to the Jedi. It was their fears of him, and constant acts of keeping the man on the shortest leash possible, that helped grow his hatred for them. They initially never wanted him, they acted like he was a mere nuisance than the prophesied Chosen One (you’d think with a promise of bringing balance to the Force, they would’ve acted just a tad more appreciative). They lied to him constantly, the most detrimental of them being the “Rako Hardeen Incident” (he remembers his mother still getting a little emotional about that one, even after nearly 30 years since it happened, and helped Revan create a disdain for the Jedi Master because of it), they proceeded to nearly send his obedient, talented, better-than-the-actual-Council Padawan to death for a crime she never committed (…..Revan doesn’t enjoy talking about that one), and after everything he had done in the name of the Republic and the Jedi, they never trusted him enough to give him a seat at their round table. Revan understands why Anakin was so easy to tip over to the Dark, due to the Sith’s masterful manipulation of events and the Jedi’s own stubborn pride, but that doesn’t excuse him from being so gullible to trust the most talented fable teller in the known galaxy. He could have found a way to leave with his wife, find his Padawan, and live a life as a family. The Jedi Order made it seem like he was bound to them, but that wasn’t the case; just ask Dooku, or his own mother. It would have saved him a world of pain and years of—

“You look deep in thought” A crisp, Coruscanti accent broke Revan out of his thoughts. He turned to see that, yep, he had indeed walked to his destination while thinking about how the Jedi were dumb, and in a bit of irony of just mentioning Dooku to himself, Tyrannus Ren is the one to call him out in all her casual grace.

Revan decided to play it cool. “Oh, nothing much, dear. Just thinking that how of all the things that we enjoy stealing from the Empire, nepotism is one of our favorites.”

“Hmph. I assume you had another argument with Kylo?” Tyrannus guessed.

“NOO! What gave you that impression? Was it the annoyed tone of my voice?”

“That, and your murder strut you do when he does something particularly stupid.”

Revan leaned against the wall she was on. “I _do_ make that walk look damn good, don’t I?” He said with an undertone of sass and salaciousness.

Although he couldn’t see past Tyrannus’ mask and hood, he could feel in the Force the reciprocation of mischief with a side of teasing on her end. She gave a light chuckle that sounded like music to his lekku. “Talk to me like that again, darling, and your privates are going to end up down your throat while you sleep.”

“Well, like I’ve told you before, sweetheart, I’m always up for anything once…”

Tyrannus chuckled and pushed slightly passed him to walk further into the training room, and Revan followed. Both of them have a….unique relationship among the Knights. She is without a doubt the most proficient in hand-to-hand combat among them, and has equally deadly skill with her bow made of Kashyyyk oak, one of the most durable materials in the galaxy. She is a woman who can get anything she wants, by seduction, murder, bribery, and any and all other dubious methods known to the galaxy, and if Kylo didn’t get instantly promoted to leader to his relation to the most powerful and dysfunctional family in the history of the universe (see: nepotism), she probably would have been leader, and Revan would have been content with that. Revan had a Dark Side that needed continual feeding, because he can’t have the Light clawing its way back up. Not yet anyway. So, they agreed to a mutually beneficial transaction: he was able to keep his Dark Side intact whenever it didn’t involve violence or harm to others, and Tyrannus got to…well, know him _a little better_ than the others. She always said she likes the dangerous, mysterious types.

Their masks stayed on the whole time, though. The only rule in a dance where anything goes.

_Anything._

“So, I assume you’re here to relay orders, or would you like to take your displeasure out on the training simulators? I do warn you: Bane is…a bit more enthusiastic than usual.”

He looked over to see the other Knights in the training room doing various activities that didn’t shock Revan in the slightest, ranging from Plagueis reading an ancient tome about how to mix Dathomirian magick with certain technologies, Bane giving the training droids unfortunate ends at the hands of his axes (he BETTER not break the room again; Revan would like to save his secret stockpile of credits, _thank you very much_ ), Krayt polishing his sniper rifle and checking explosives, and Sidious practicing different blade katas off to the side of the room alone.

He turned to Tyrannus. “NOPE! Today, we have ourselves a mission, straight from the big man himself!” THAT got everyone’s attention, stopping them all in their tracks.

“Oh? And what, pray tell, are we engaging into this time?” Plagueis asked, putting the tome away and walking over to them. Krayt put his cleaning tools away and slung the rifle across his back, Sidious sheathed his blade and went over as well, and Bane stomped on the head of a still twitching droid and made his way over to the group.

Revan cleared his throat and spoke in a purposely terrible impersonation of their leader. “Our mission, which is of strict importance and ABSOLUTELY made by me, no one else, especially not by a sexy Torgrutan badass with better abs than me…” That got a giggle from Tyrannus and a groan from everyone else, who just wanted for once for Revan to get to the point without him being annoying. “Get on with it.” Sidious demanded threateningly.

Revan reverted back to his usual persona. “You’re no fun.” He retorted, before addressing them all again. “So, we found the Resistance base that houses the boys and girls who helped blow up our failed passion project, Starkiller Base. Hux and Kylo wanted to blow the kriffer sky high, but luckily, I stopped them and suggested a much better idea. We’re going to take some troopers down there, round up all the ones still alive, get every ounce of Resistance-related information from them, and then…do with them as we please.” He gestured the last part, leaving it to the imagination of his compatriots. Bane apparently already had an idea on what to them, if his cackling and holding his big axe menacingly was any indication.

“So, we’re taking them all hostages? Bringing them back up here?” Tyrannus asked curiously. “I would like to bring them to the torture chambers. I have some new poisons I want to try, and they may be adequate test subjects…”

“Now THAT’S the right attitude! But, no, we’re not bringing them on the ship. We’d make a mess. Maintenance already has a hard time cleaning up after Bane, as is.” Bane growled at that, but Revan paid no mind. “We interrogate the ones in charge, and use the others as leverage. They’re compassion can be used against them. You really think General Leia is gonna keep the ‘stoic war hero’ charade up when she sees her soldiers dying left and right? She’ll crack like a nexu egg.”

“Will Kylo be joining us, then? Considering that the path he walks requires the ties to his past be severed, and he has already done that with his father, will he do the same to his mother?” Sidious asked.

That was the big question, wasn’t it? He and the knights heard about it from Kylo and the Supreme Leader after they got back from their mission, on top of being told of their new mandate of hunting down Resistance scum. Honestly, he wasn’t surprised by it. Kylo had virtually no love for Han Solo, as he almost immediately rejected him after Falling. He also heard he wasn’t the best parental figure, as he still engaged in smuggling operations long after the Rebellion became the New Republic, and his mother was either busy arguing that even though she was Vader’s daughter, it didn’t mean she was just like him, or busy rejecting being a fully trained Jedi to reject her nightmares of her son being corrupted. She had the right idea, but unfortunately, some visions can never be stopped…

He had a better relationship with his mother than his father. Could he really do it, though? I guess he’ll never know because…

“No. He’s staying up here, probably to get yelled at some more by the Supreme Leader for getting slashed by an untrained Jedi. We’ll be handling this mission ourselves.” Revan replied

“HA! Good! We’ll be the ones to fix what they never could!” Bane replied smugly, putting the giant axe over his even bigger shoulders. Krayt, the mute, silently agreed with a nod of his head.

Revan smirked under his mask. “My thoughts exactly. Go get whatever you need, and I’ll grab some stormtroopers to quell any resistance from the…well, Resistance. Really should’ve come up with a better name..” He said that last part more to himself than the others, as he turned for the door.

“Hey! Don’t get any yellow bellies to come with us! We don’t another FN-2187 on our hands!” Bane called out.

“Or, perhaps, it would be a good thing. If any show any weakness like that traitorous wretch, we can kill them ourselves, instead of allowing the problem to fester like Kylo did.” Plagiueis replied with harsh undertones. One of the constant things they’ve heard was how a rogue trooper defected and was one of the few ground forces that helped lower the defenses for the Resistance to blow up the base. It was even reported he had the sheer beskar balls to fight Kylo Ren, and how he got sliced in the back for it, ending the traitor like the dog he was (maybe, Revan thought, because given his recent track record, he probably kriffed THAT up too).

“Noted. Get your things and meet us at the hanger.” Revan finished and left the room.

CWCWCWC

“Attention all hands! The Resistance base’s defenses have been destroyed! All ground forces, prepare to descend and assault! I repeat, prepare to descend and assault!”

The announcement caused all the stormtroopers hand-picked by Revan to speed through the hanger to get on the transport dropships waiting for them. The Knights were already inside them, waiting for their backup. As the last ones loaded onto the ships, they began to depart from the frigate and head down to the surface below. Revan decided to go up to the cockpit to take a closer look at the radar scans as the Knights and troopers sat and waited to land.

He heard the pilots chatter amongst themselves as he snuck in. “Heh. Look at them. They think they can actually run?” One of the pilots pointed to the small pocket of small frigates, fighters, and what appeared to be bombers heading out of the atmosphere a sizable distance away.

“Honestly, they’re just delaying the inevitable. They can’t run from the armada we’ve got up there. No way!” The other pilot agreed, Force bless them both.

“Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you two sound absolutely sure about that.” Revan asked, revealing himself to the two now-startled pilots who never noticed his presence at all.

“AH! L-Lord Revan, sir, please…forgive us! We were just…” One of the pilots tried to stammer out, but Revan lifted a hand stopping them.

“No, no, you’re fine, really. I’m not Kylo; I can actually keep a conversation going and NOT murder anyone who sounds like a sniveling bastard, like you two do right now. Please, continue.” He crossed his arms, waiting for them.

Both men looked at each other nervously, their shock and fear very visible in the Force around the masked man. “It…it was just that we don’t think the Resistance fleet heading out of there is going to escape. A-and how could they? Look at what we have compared to them!” One of them finally spoke out. Revan shook his head. No one in the First Order knows how to learn a lesson, don’t they?

“Yeah, we thought the same thing with Starkiller Base. You wanna tell that to your buddies who were there? I’m sure their _ghosts_ would have something to say about that.”

Both men felt guilty in the Force, as they should, for celebrating way too early. “Let this be a lesson for you two chuckleheads: you don’t boast about victory when there’s even the slightest chance of losing. Especially when you’re opponent has this nasty penchant of pulling upsets out of their ass.” Revan warned, and the men quickly nodded.

Revan used the Force to gage who were on the escaping ships. Probably the higher echelon of leadership, like admirals, commanders, and…

…well, _hello._

Revan could feel the enhanced Force energy bubbling inside one of the escaping cruisers, Force that was trying to be hidden under the surface. Which could mean either one of two things: Luke Skywalker somehow got a decrease in power (which, to be honest, wouldn’t completely surprise him), or, the more likely option: his dear sister was onboard. He ruled out the mystery girl, for as much of a prick Kylo is, it would take more than just a little bit of the Force to take him down like that. No, it had to be General Leia, and Revan’s amusement was on full display. Kylo knew damn well she was on that planet, and probably knew what he had to do when she saw her, and made up an excuse to stay on the ship to avoid it. Now, as she and her merry band of scum and misfits were about to fly away to parts unknown, he’s gonna have no other choice but to prevent their escape. Now, Revan could see if the whiny, arrogant, downright _spoiled_ little boy had what it takes to get the job done. He almost felt a ping of sadness for not being there to see it…

Still, the fact that there were even ships leaving was alarming. “I thought that laser was supposed to stop them leaving. What are they doing up here?” He asked.

“I think they already were leaving before the blast hit, sir. They must have been halfway up the atmosphere by that point.”

“What about the other ships down there? Any signs of incoming fighters?”

The pilots checked their radars for any signs of activity. “Negative. That blast disoriented them, and probably left a lot of their ships destroyed. We’re getting signs of frantic activity down there. They’re probably scrambling to any ship they can find.”

“Wait. I’m picking up something else.” The other pilot interrupted. “There’s movement, but not just from the Resistance base. It appears to be right outside their range.”

Now that’s interesting. “Locals who’ve allowed them to stay?” Revan wondered aloud.

“Unknown. I didn’t know D’Qar had any natives. I though that place was a dead planet.”

Revan racked his brain to solve this conundrum, and eventually came up with an answer. “Ah, Twileks.” He said calmly. Both pilots looked at him, confused.

“Long story short, their home world of Ryloth got plenty kriffed during both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War, leaving the place near inhospitable. While some of them dedicated themselves to try and freshen up the joint, a lot more packed up and migrated elsewhere, in remote areas where few could find them. This must be one of them.” Revan answered. It made sense; Twileks had a long history of Rebellion and freedom fighting, from Cham Syndulla leading a ragtag group of rebels against the Separatists, to his daughter, Hera, doing the same with the help of a much bigger Rebellion. If the Resistance came calling for aid and a planet to hide on, the Twileks would never turn them away.

That’s going to prove to be a _big_ mistake on their part…

“What’s the estimated size of the forces outside the base?” Revan demanded.

“Not big. Probably a small village’s worth.” One of them answered.

Revan nodded, getting all the information he needed. “Set to full speed. We need to get down there while they’re all disoriented. Any more fighters head toward us, blast them out of the sky.” He commanded as he walked back into the main loading area. He felt the ship rock as the speed increased.

He addressed the men and women at attention within the ship. “Ladies and gentlemen, today, you have been handpicked by yours truly for a _very special_ assignment. Down there, you’ll find a whole bunch of Resistance pansies who gave the order to blow up Starkiller Base, and kill probably millions of your fellow brother in arms. Now, that’s not very nice of them, is it?” He slowly walked down further toward the ship door, the ship rocking more violently as they entered the atmosphere rapidly. “Now, if you’ve worked for our boss, you’ll probably know by now that his style of command usually revolves around yelling to get random things done, and throwing lightsaber temper tantrums whenever things don’t go his way.” Some stormtroopers murmured and looked around, wondering if they were supposed to respond to the disrespect being said, while the other Knights just laughed.

Revan continued. “Now, you’ll be happy to know I’m not THAT strict. I only have three rules of engagement: One, I want all the important looking assholes, specifically the ones in charge. We need them to tell us their juicy little secrets, and where all their pals are. If they can’t do that, we’ll just have to use our slicers on their computers, which for their sake, they should hope we don’t have to do that.” He finished that point darkly. He moved on to his next point.

“Second, we believe there’s a small contingent of Twileks down there. We don’t know if they’re armed, but I want them alive if you all can help it. Round them up and bring them to the base once we’ve cleared out the Resistance. If any of you were there on Jakku with our fearless leader, this should be familiar to you. Try not to make too much of a mess.”

“Finally, the most important rule everyone here should follow. This rule is punishable by DEATH, no ifs, ands, or buts.” He leaned in closer, the troopers doing the same as they await whatever rule that was this important. “SMILE!” He eagerly stated. The troopers looked amongst themselves, confused as kriff as to what he just said. “It’s important to make a good first impression, especially when shooting people down. ” The knights just sighed in recognition at the man’s antics.

The speakers aboard the ship came on. “We are approaching the base now. All troopers, prepare for assault.” The pilots on the other end announced.

Revan nodded to himself, but still….there was still one large bantha in the room to address. “Oh, and one other little thing: I’m pretty sure that by now, you’ve probably heard about the tragic tale of one of our finest: FN-2187. Oh, how he was a legend among us, with the most notable achievements of his being cleaning up puke in the training rooms, scrubbing piss off the latrine ceilings, and the most famous of all: chickening out of a direct order and running for his life with a Resistance pilot. While that would normally be the end of the story, he’s proven to be the exception, as he was there on Starkiller, and aided in its eventual destruction.” There were feeling of hatred for the traitor amongst the troopers, which Revan was glad for. He didn’t need another problem of THAT magnitude happening to him; Kylo would never let him hear the end of it. Still, he needed to give them a little _incentive_. 

"Any of you even think of pulling something like that, and it won't be me you answer to, or Hux, or Kylo, or even the Supreme Leader." His hands cackled with electricity as the trooper’s heads reared back in shock and fear. "Because you won't answer to _anyone again._ Unlike our fearless leader, I like to nip my problems right in the bud. Capeesh?" The fear in the Force around him was relishing, as all of them quickly nodded their heads, and the other knights chuckled amongst themselves. “Good. Weapons check.”

The troopers readied their weapons, the knights prepared their own as well, and Revan checked the _four_ lightsabers on his belt to make sure they were loose enough to get out in time.

As the only two Force users among the Knights, Kylo and Revan use lightsabers as their weapons. While Kylo opted for that toy of a weapon (yes, Revan knows that historically, ancient Force users used THAT type of saber, but have you seen that thing? One wrong move, and the hilt cuts off you hand. Kylo can Anakin Skywalker _himself_ if he wants), but for Revan, he’s developed and trained in a rare and specific style of lightsaber combat thought lost for eons. He is proficient in Jar’kai, of course, from his late mother, who was arguably the best practitioner of that style in the old Order. But then, she was brutally taken from him, and the calm required to master the style went away to make way for a violent spinning tornado of rage at everyone that had a hand in it. He spent years regretting it, knowing now what Skywalker went through in his own tragic backstory, and was resigned to Fall on his own, until his master came to him and offered a new path for him. He helped turn Revan’s anger into a tool of productivity rather than self-destructive mess, and told him that even though he Fell, he was not lost.

In fact, he was exactly what he was looking for…

He taught him a new style, a style very few knew or know about. In the texts he had, it read of an ancient Sith who used a form that used the Force to control multiple lightsabers at once and decimate enemies of all shapes and sizes. This Sith, Darth Traya, was once ruthless and feared, and killed many who were deserving, and even more who were not. Eventually, however, she realized that darkness alone was a path of destruction, and also opted for a different path, one that combined Light and Dark. Revan was moved by this story, and quickly began learning this style, and working to control his darkness. However, his master foresaw a returning evil arriving to threaten the balance once again, and his training, nor the plan for eternal peace in the galaxy he had been concocting for a while now, would not be complete while that evil continues to fester. For that, he sent him to embrace his darkness, keeping the light inside him just enough to see the mission through of eliminating the source of the corruption. That source led him to the First Order, and to Kylo and Snoke. While Snoke definitely had the stink of Sith on him, he wasn’t the one; he knew someone else was behind the curtain, pulling the strings. He just didn’t know where they were, and how far the evil went.

But he will find them, for the people of the galaxy who have suffered at the hands of Force users, both Jedi and Sith, for millions of years. For the children who also lost their loved ones, so they have nothing to fear anymore in this cold, dark galaxy. And…

For his mother, as when this is over, the dream of peace she’s always had will finally come to pass. He just needed to stay within the First Order, just a little longer, and make it appear he is on their side. Even if he has to kill many who are deserving, and many who are not…

Which led him back to the here and now. As the ship landed and the bay doors opened to reveal several Resistance soldiers already waiting with their blasters out, Revan didn’t even look behind him or move his hands, as he used the Force to lift his sabers in the air, activate the crimson blades, and they immediately flew out and struck down the various soldiers, some limbs flying. The troopers looked shocked at this display of power, while the Knights were calm. They know that beyond the playful exterior, there lay an immensely powerful, ruthless, and dangerous assassin that can kill anyone without even lifting his finger.

“Well, come on! Let’s go introduce ourselves!” He said as he slowly and calmly walked out of the ship, sabers still flying wildly at the poor soldiers on the other end, while the troopers and Knights from the ship, and the other dropships that came with them, rapidly poured out guns blazing.

Revan Ren loved days liked today.

But Ashara Tano felt guilty at the loss of life, and ashamed at what his mother might think.

He hoped that one day, his two halves would meet in the middle, instead of drift farther apart…


	2. Chapter 2: Ultimatums

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revan's day goes to osik VERY quick, and decides to relieve his stress by forcing the leader of the base to do something beyond unthinkable...

It ended in under 40 minutes. A new record, Revan think.

It took a bit more bloodshed than he expected (you’d think after like the FIFTH head rolled of their friend’s shoulders, these idiots would learn by now), but eventually, the Resistance came to their senses and surrendered, especially when they saw the Twileks at gunpoint.

Oh, they tried, they really did, those Twileks, bless them. They were the OLD kind, the tribal kind that believed in the tribal ways, like spears and traps, and not blasters and shields. These were the kind that had been with Ryloth since even before the Clone Wars and had believed in its historical roots more than the modern type of government that had been clawing at their door for years. When Ryloth finally decided to modernize their way of life, the tribals cried heresy, saying that Ryloth has always thrived by maintaining the ways of their forefathers and foremothers (those said ancestors never had to deal with a planet killer like the Death Star before, but what have you…). So, they hopped on a rickety starship befitting their nomad lifestyle and rode it all the way out here, on this swamp planet far from their home…

Revan found out from a Resistance mechanic who had enough braincells to surrender after watching him slice a Trandoshian _in half_ that the they landed on D’Qar not knowing the Twileks lived here, and had small skirmishes because the elders thought they were slavers. Once the confusion and hostilities were defused by negotiations, the Twileks willingly allowed the Resistance to stay on their new home as a base, because even throughout their history, Twileks were known for rebellion.

Sucks to be them today.

Once the dust had settled, the Resistance members still alive were lined up in a group outside the hanger field, where the charred remains of X-Wings, Y-Wings, and other crafts lay. The Twileks were there as well, being grouped across from the rebels. They put them all out there without any weapons, blaster, knives, or otherwise, as a way to ensure no one would try anything stupid. Considering the state of all of them, he would be surprised if any of them tried to at all.

Which led Revan back to where he was, inside the main screening room filled to the brim with expensive hardware, like holotables, recording codexes, manifests, and all the other fine machinery that confirmed his point about how many friends the Resistance had. They didn’t have a collective credit jar to afford everything, and they weren’t dumb enough to steal them without the First Order noticing. No, they had ways of getting things delivered. It’s the “where from” and “how” that he wants answered. Those answers are somewhere on the main computer, holding the names of all potential contacts and hyperlane routes the First Order somehow doesn’t know about.

Problem: the computer is encrypted, and say what you will about how well they fight or fly, but they definitely have proven to be good at keeping unwanted eyes out of their stuff. Revan would be impressed if he weren’t on a schedule. “What’s the holdup?” He asked the stormtrooper trying to hack into the databank.

The trooper looked up nervously at the impatient Ren with multiple lightsabers floating around him. “The encryption they used is beyond the standard slicing equipment we brought down with us, Lord Revan. I…I think it would be best if we called in special technicians from the fleet and have them come down to try and hack into this.” He offered sheepishly.

Revan sighed under his helmet. See, he COULD do that, and he was tempted to so this could speed along, but he had a point to prove, and if he called for backup, the conversation with Kylo would be downright _hell_. Any time Kylo Ren feels himself is a time Revan Ren gets violently ill, and the only reliable cure for this deadly affliction is to just straight murder the greasy bastard, and he can’t do that yet (unfortunately).

He also was not that savvy himself with slicing. He was an expert on starcrafts, though, which he got passed down to him by his lineage. He went down the rest of the list. Bane…..yeah, no, that one was obvious. Plagieous might be able to, but he’s more concerned in putting a soul in a damn blender rather than the intricacies of a holotablet. Krayt has only ever shown interest in guns and stealth gear, and Sidious has always been the “lone wanderer” type, living off bugs and murder on backwater planets not unlike this one. Tyrannus may actually be the best bet, as her….”assets” have probably gotten her in many a backroom that she could pilfer credits and information from. But that usually meant a favor on his end, and he wasn’t in the mood…

Which meant one other method he could try, and he was _just_ pissed enough to try it…

He turned back to the trooper. “Keep working on it. I’ll see if anyone out there would like to…. _help._ In the meantime, tell the Dominator that whenever they’re done playing with that fleet up there, we’re staying down here to collect the information.” The trooper nodded and proceeded to contact the frigate. Not ideal to take this much time, but sometimes, it pays to be…

“Um, sir…” The trooper said as Revan was about to step outside. “I can’t get a signal. There’s nothing on the channel. Something is wrong!”

Revan furrowed his brow. That laser blast should have knocked out a lot of the Resistance’s toys, including jammers. Either everyone up there was busy kriffing around with the fleet, or maybe…

Before he could even entertain that OTHER train of thought, a trooper rushed from outside to confirm it for him. “LORD REVAN! YOU NEED TO SEE THIS! IT’S THE DOMINATOR!” She shouted frantically. Revan’s annoyance and anger were rising rapidly. What the hell did the First Order do now?

He walked outside and looked up, having a joke prepared for whatever stupid situation he could dream of, but what he saw shut him up indefinitely.

The Dominator, the self-praised “peak of First Order engineering” with powerful kyber cannons with enough kick to shift a planet off its axis, three times bigger than normal Star Destroyers, and the temporary quarters of the Knights, was now a fireball erupting up into the stars, visible even in the bright blue sky above. Revan could only stare at the scene in dumbfounded shock at just how….. _how_ they could just let them do that, superior firepower and all. He heard the Twileks and rebels shout and cheer for joy at the sight, while the troopers and knights tried to subdue them.

The trooper, who probably knew how irate Revan secretly was, timidly spoke up. “We-we got reports of a lone fighter compromising the turrets, allowing a group of bombers to fly in and target the main reactor, sending a cascade explosion throughout the frigate, causing….. _this.”_

Lone. Figher. He had a feeling which fighter, and which pilot it was, and it boiled him even more. “Any word from General Hux and Kylo Ren?” _Please be dead, please be dead, please be dead…._

“We do! Thankfully, Hux and some of the bridge crew evacuated in escapes pods, and Kylo Ren took his personal fighter and is now engaging the Resistance fleet!” She said proudly, sounding _happy_ that they were alive.

The Force REALLY hated Revan today, it seemed.

Then, in a moment of near perfect comedic timing, as the fireball of the Dominator continued to fester up in the sky, another bigger, more MASSIVE ship, one Revan immediately recognized as Snoke’s flagship, the Supremacy, come out of hyperspace and start to just blast the rest of the Resistance fleet to pieces. The Twileks and rebels down on the surface looked as though their hopes had been crushed, their chances of survival depleted to near zero, as they watched all the Resistance ships be destroyed, save for one, as that ship turned tail and fled, as the Supremacy was in hot pursuit.

The First Order finally had the Resistance on the run. Revan theoretically SHOULD be happy.

But _of course_ their Dominator got destroyed when it shouldn’t have been possible. _Of course_ Starkiller Base got destroyed when it shouldn’t have. The Supremacy cruising off in the distance firing at the last Resistance ship shouldn’t be destroyed, but…

Well, Revan was tired of old jokes being repeated over and over and over again.

The trooper next to him, meanwhile, was still laughing. “YES! The Supreme Leader’s ship has come to save us and crush these pathetic rebel scum! This will be a glorious day, and when we finish here, we can go up and cele—”

SNAP

The trooper’s head violently turned sideways at Revan’s command of the Force, silencing her forever as she dropped onto the ground with an unceremonious thud. Revan didn’t need a celebration because there should be no reason to. They just lost a ship that should have destroyed the Resistance _anyway,_ which can only indicate just how much more likely they are to blow the Supremacy out of the sky, and to top off his irritation, two of the most annoying, useless, whiny, bitchy, moaning morons not even a Gungan could rival still _somehow_ made it out unscathed, all while Revan still had nothing to show for his own efforts down here, and should be expecting an annoyed call of how his progress is going while they just lost a ship.

Needless to say, Revan was pissed. And in front of him were two groups of stress relievers just BEGGING to be used.

He walked over threateningly to them, the knights looking on with barely concealed glee in the Force. They knew they were in for a show. The captive rebels, however, were not as keen as to what was about to happen. They spout off threats and scoffs. “Ha! Not so threatening now, are you?” “You won’t win, we just proved we can beat you.” “FOR THE REPUBLIC!” Kriffing crap like that. Revan was getting a migraine, so he went ahead and shut them up.

By choking them all in the air, and setting them back down.

The rebels were stunned and shocked, not realizing that yet another member of the First Order was Force-Sensitive, besides Kylo Ren. Still, they look determined, like they won.

That won’t do.

“Pissing our pants yet? Boy, do I have a feeling we’re getting close.” He said as he strutted toward them, maliciousness oozing from his every movement. “Hi, I’m Ren. That guy over there with the axes is Ren. That lovely lady over there with a bow aimed at your heads is Ren. The others with the guns, swords, and _scary_ looking magic are all Ren, too. We…” He gestured all around them. “…are the Knights of Ren. And we DO NOT appreciate you killing our men. And when we sent more of our men to kill your men for killing our men, you went ahead and killed A PLANET full of our men, and NOW, you go out of your way to blow up a ship full of EVEN more of our people. Not. Cool. Not cool at all. You have _no idea_ just how _uncool_ that load of kark is for you, but today, you’re gonna learn _real quick._ ”

A man at the front, dark hair and a scar above his lip, spoke up. “Hmph. You’re the Knights of Ren? If you’re _boss_ is anything to go by, cowardly and disgraceful, then you all don’t look so tough.” The other Knights held their weapons up and grunted, wanting to tear him limb from limb for that, but Revan held up a hand and slowly knelt down to face him. The man looked undeterred, ready to face death in an instant. However, Revan simply laughed loudly, confusing both him and the rest of the group. “Let me be the first to tell you, all those things that you’ve heard about Mr. Kylo Ren….are true. He is a coward, he’s even scared of porgs, if you can believe it. He’s also a terrible singer in the shower, flabs FOR DAYS, and he and that ginger kriff Hux hold an underground dance competition in the bowels of our ship. You know, the one you’ve just blown up.” He said with a hint of anger to the confused and now frightened rebels. “But still, we’d like to…apologize. He’s _new_ to our merry little band of misfits, and…he’s the ugly duckling of the group, to be honest. See, he was originally just gonna blow you all to hell without a second thought, but I managed to stop him, so you’re welcome. He’s the type that thinks brute force is enough to solve a problem, yet we all know that won’t do at all. Which is why we’re here, to handle the gory little details he just can’t do. Simply put, he’s what you would call….an asshole.” Revan finished as he got up and observed the group.

“Oh, and by the way! Whoever gave him that NASTY looking scar, I’d like to give my personal thanks for giving me something to laugh about behind his back. Really, that shit’s HILARIOUS! So, don’t be shy! Why don’t you stand up and introduce yourself, so _I can thank you_?”

No one was brave enough to stand, and after gaging in the Force, he found that the girl was not there. A pity, really. He legitimately wanted to thank her for sticking it to Skyguy Grand Jr., along with interrogating her about who she is, where she’s from, how she got lightsaber training, etc.

“You won’t find her. She’s gone, and we’ll die before we tell you anything.” The man said defiantly. Revan turned holohorror film slowly at the idiot, and felt his anger rising rapidly. Considering the events of the day, and hearing this prick talk more and more, he’d say he’s close to just ending this right now and have a little slice fest with his lightsabers, and send whatever limbs fall out to the families of the deceased as a VERY clear message on what happens if they try something similarly stupid. “I’m _planning_ on that.” Revan retorted threateningly. “You’re so going to regret _every single thing you have ever done_ in a few minutes. Yes, you are. You see, whatever you do, no matter what, there’s one rule that should be followed, and it’s a real simple rule. So simple that even if you’re stupid, which you _very well may be,_ you can all understand it. Ready? Here it is, pay attention: Tell. Me. Everything. Or. I. Kill. You’re. Friends. And. Families. While. You. Watch. See? Should be really simple.”

“Now, I understand that you may not be familiar with us, and if you’re not, then that means we are doing our jobs PRETTY damn well. But today, you get to find out what separates us from our dear mutual numbskull of a leader. Now, since the girl is NOT here, and believe me, we will find her, we have another problem you get to help us out with. Your computers are built pretty tough. I’m honestly impressed, but I’m not exactly in the mood to wait around patiently for it to be sliced open, so hears the deal. Either one of you gives us the password, or I introduce you to every single method of torture that Kylo _doesn’t_ know about, and believe me, it’s a _very extensive list.”_

“IF YOU THINK WE’LL GIVE IN AND…” The man was starting to say, but Revan used the Force to slam his jaw shut.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You think this _whole time,_ I was talking to you, you little pawn? Oh, you sweet, delirious summer child, no, I was referring…to your superior.” He says as he points to the blonde woman next to the man, who for the entire time has had a stoic face for every shocking thing he’s said. He knew immediately someone holding a façade for THAT long must be the one calling the shots. “Now, dear. Correct me if I’m wrong, but First Order records state you as…Connix, right?” He asked sweetly. The woman didn’t so much as flinch at him. Brave, he’ll give her that, but that won’t last here in a second if she keeps it up. “I’ll take that grimace as a yes. Listen. If we don’t get into your computers, I’m going to paint this pathetic moon with ALL of your blood. Not just yours, but the Twileks as well. You want that on your conscious?” He asked again.

The woman, Connix, still stared at him, glaring with a defiant look that could only be learned from one General Skywalker. He rolls his eyes in his helmet. They know there is statistically no way out for them right now, right? “Whatever happens, we die for the Republic. And I promise you, you and the First Order will fall, and peace will be restored across the galaxy, the peace you stole and tried to destroy.” She answered calmy and determined. Revan just smirked. _Oh,_ he was going to have fun now.

“Peace? You think that… _peace_ is going to be obtained through you? How did that work out for the New Republic when we showed up, hmm? And how did that work out for the _Old_ Republic, the one that was filled to the brim with thousands upon thousands of Jedi, and even they couldn’t keep the peace? Or the High Republic? Or every single attempt at a Republic before all of those? And we’re not even talking about all the crime, corruption, and in-fighting that those Republics and Jedi failed to keep in check, too. Now before you even say it, yes, the Sith did that too, much more than the Jedi. But since you all trust the Jedi so much, how come they never really stop the bad guys? How come they keep coming back and causing so much chaos and death, when the Jedi could have put a stop to it all? How many Sith came from the Jedi themselves? You think that peace will come when we all are stopped? The only thing you’ll do is celebrate, get lazy and complacent, and wait until the next big threat comes. Tell me: how many more planets need to die for all this…pointless fighting?” Revan said firmly, causing whispers among the rebels and stormtroopers, but Connix stood firm, albeit worried.

She was about to say something else when Revan interrupted. “Ah, you know what? I’m just rambling. Let’s talk about another problem that’s pissing me off right now: your face. You have this look like you’re gonna do something to us. Darling, you do realize that, even though you got lucky and blew up our planet cracker of a ship, a much bigger, way more imposing one is chasing your friends to Force knows where right now. They’re not here, and no one else is. Yet, you think…that you can win, still. Despite our blasters at your neck.” He stood up imposingly in front of her. “I won’t have that.”

“They will come. I know as a commanding officer, we must make the tough decisions to keep us fighting to break you all—” Connix was suddenly dragged face first into the gravel, as Revan dragged her with the Force to the middle of the field slowly, causing the rebels to react in shock, anger and fear for what was about to happen. The knights kept them all in check. As Revan stopped and forced Connix upright on her knees, he saw that her face was scarred and bloodied from being dragged. Revan smiled. Today was going to be a learning opportunity for everyone here. “The _tough_ decisions, you say? You know what, Connix? I couldn’t agree more.”

Revan turned to the Twileks, having spared them long enough. He looked for a volunteer for a little “demonstration.” He saw one in a little green Twilek girl, with a bandage over her eye, and a similar determined look that Connix had just a moment ago. Revan’s curiosity was peaked; that girl had a story on her, but right now, she’ll do just fine. “Trooper!” He called out to a stormtrooper near her. “Bring her over here. Gently.” He ordered. The trooper nodded and grabbed the girl, causing the Twileks to yell and struggle to keep her safe, but the troopers pointed their blasters at them and kept them in their place.

The trooper delivered the girl and returned to his post. Revan studied her inquisitively. She had a wound over her eye that was bandaged. Maybe she’s missing one? She also looked very malnourished and tired, yet still did not cower or cry when she was brought here, or even now, as she gazes at Revan. He’s impressed, much more so than with Connix. “Tell me, kid. What happened here?” He pointed to his eye hole where the girl’s eye was missing.

“It—it was taken out of me by a big blast, and blast took my mother and father too. It happened when us and new people were fighting, because we did not no one another very well.” The girl said in a bit of bad Basic, but good enough. Revan was struck for a second. So, she lost her parents too? Well, this galaxy produces thousands of orphans by the minute, so it’s not too shocking, but still, for someone so young, the same age as…

Revan shook himself out of it. “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Really, I am. No one your age should have to go through something like that. And the fact that you lost it to _them…”_ He pointed to the rebels. “Doesn’t that burn you inside? To lose your family and part of your sight to your next door neighbors?”

“I was at beginning, but we all make mistakes. It not bad now, but they say YOU are bad people, and you are proving that right now!” She said. Revan chuckled. Ah, the mind of a child was a wonderous thing. Wonderful, but mistaken.

“Is that what they told you? Well, they’re not totally wrong, but there are certain people who aren’t as bad as the others.” He said plainly. The girl raised her brow. “Who?” She asked.

Before Revan could answer vaguely, Connix interrupted. “Don’t try to twist her mind, Sith! The entire First Order is just like the Empire, corrupted and evil!”

Oh, now _that_ stings. He wasn’t a Sith, at least not wholly so. Although, he has the Dark Side on him right now mainly to hide his true intentions, to remain undetected, and also whenever he deals with dolts like Kylo or Hux or KRIFFING CONNIX, but that was just the half he needed right now. The Light is still there, buried underneath it all, and he’ll call it back when his work is done. But, they don’t need to know that, so he’ll play along.

They think he’s a Sith? Alright. He can play the part…

He turned to Connix. “Well, you are right about the First Order and Empire comparison. But see, there’s one thing that they share that I’m not too big of a fan of. See, you can destroy however many planets you want, kill billions upon billions of people, but what happens? Word gets out that ‘Hey! They blew up Alderaan and Coruscant! We could be next!’ Then, at that point, those dead people aren’t just statistics anymore; they’re martyrs. You see, that’s the problem: Killing by bulk doesn’t work. We failed because we keep underestimating your desire to seek justice for the fallen, and just how many people want to do that, from trained professionals to everyday nobodies. We create our own problems.

“Now, for me at least, I believe that death…should be _educational._ Planet-popping doesn’t do the trick anymore, and neither does mass murder. See, when a person dies, people need to feel the full gravity of the situation. They need to see that person die, or at least what happened to them, instead of just hearing about it. I’m a firm believer that killing at least ten people and sending their limbs back to their homes, whether they be arms, legs, or heads, can do a hell of a lot more than any Death Star variant, because of the sheer _sight_ of it, seeing what happened to those people with their own eyes. At least with vaporizing planets, you at least know they felt little to no pain, but with their bodiless heads staring back at them in fear and dread, they don’t know what the hell happened to them, and they’ll go ‘Oh god! Look what they did to…whoever! I don’t want that to happen to my kids, my friends, or ME! We should stay away.’ The kids will grow up and learn not to repeat their dead parent’s mistake, the grownups will live in fear of what may happen to them, and stand down, and no more martyrs will be made. Only examples. Now, wouldn’t the Empire have gone differently if they went with THAT little idea?” Revan finished with glee.

Connix and the girl looked at Revan with pure sickened fear. “You—you’re insane!” Connix said. Revan merely shook his head. No, he’s just ahead of the curve. And now, she gets to find out for herself how effective this strategy is. “No, darling, it’s more ‘forward-thinking’ Why don’t I show you?” With that, he turned to the Twilek, who NOW started to look scared. Good. That’s the smart reaction to have, at least SHE understands the gravity of the situation. “You a southpaw, kid?”

The kid looked perplexed. “….What?”

Revan groaned. “Are you a LEFT or RIGHT handed Twilek?”

“….right.”

“There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Revan looked down on the ground and saw a little mud near his foot. He placed his gloved finger in it and swirled around. He then a small piece of his kama off and motioned for the girl’s arm. The girl reluctantly gave it, and he tied the stringed piece around her arm, right at her bicep, and tightened it. “Does that hurt?”

The girl looked at him. “No.” She was starting to understand what was happening here. Smart lass.

“You sure? It’s supposed to. Trust me, you kinda want it to hurt a little, for later.” He finished tightening it around and then took his muddy finger to drag it across the area halfway below her elbow, halfway to her hand. “My apologies if this feels cold. Don’t know how long that mud’s been there, or what exactly has been in it. Though, I wouldn’t worry about infections. Not in a minute, anyway.” He finished making a clear dark line across her skin and stepped back.

“Now, sweetheart, I would like you to get down on the ground, face down, and hold your arms out. I’m asking nicely because unlike this sorry sap right here, I don’t like the idea of slamming YOU down on the ground with the Force and breaking that pretty little face, ‘kay?” He finished softly. The girl, still a little wary, did as she was told and laid there on the ground, awaiting whatever fate was coming her way.

Revan then turned the other way and called out to Bane. “Hey, big boy! Mind if I borrow one of your axes for a sec? I promise I’ll give it right back!” He asked politely. Bane simply grunted and took a small axe, nice and sharp, from his side and threw it at Revan’s face, which he stopped using the Force and took it out of the air. “Thanks, buddy!” He began inspecting the axe in his hand. Small, but big enough to get good momentum, and very sharp on the end.

Perfect.

He looked back at Connix, who had been watching the entire thing play out with increasing understanding and terror. “You—you wouldn’t…”

Revan simply tilted his head at the poor woman. “Me? I’m not doing a kriffing thing.” He set the axe down right in front of her. “ _You are.”_

Connix looked absolutely perplexed at what he was implying as Revan stood and turned away from her. “Alright, Connix, you say that you make the ‘tough decisions?’ Well, I got a doozy for you. Let’s see if you’re up to it. Connix, I would VERY much like you to take that axe in front of you, and cut that little girl’s arm off, right there where that line is.”

Connix’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in sheer panic as Revan continued. “Now I know that is an extremely kriffed-up thing to ask of you. I get that. You probably need a second to process that, so I’ll let you. Still, sooner or later, I’m gonna need you to do it, because if you don’t, all of _your_ people are going to die…” The knights prepared their weapons and looked bloodthirsty at the rebels, who were scared for their lives. “…all of _her_ people are going to die…” The troopers raised their blasters at the Twileks, who were in sheer panic. “…she dies, whether I have her arm or not, then I take you and make you watch us kill the rest of your rebels, then your family and friends, and after all of that, once you are firmly aware of the scope of the death you caused, THEN…I’ll let you die. Eventually. I’ll keep you alive for a year or two chained in a jailcell just so you can stew on it.”

The man from before spoke up to him. “No, please! We—we understand. We won’t resist! We will do whatever you want, just don’t make her…”

“NO! no, no, no! You understand, and that’s great…but _she_ doesn’t. This isn’t your punishment. Slick.” He turned back to Connix, who is in actual tears from the stress of what to do. “Because you know why? Because _the leaders make the tough decisions.”_ Revan could practically taste the horror pumping out of her, the rebels, the Twileks, and even the troopers who were watching the cruel scene. Honestly, this is what Revan needed right now to keep the growing light at bay for a little longer.

“Now, I’m going to need a clean cut, right there on that line. I see your muscles you got there, you look like you can pull off a good swing. Here’s a little advice, since you CLEARLY look like you’ve never done this before: aim it 45 degrees at an angle and let the axe take the weight all the way down. Give us something to fold over. We have a fantastic medic down here with us. She’s gonna be just fine…probably. Maybe.” Revan joked.

Connix was still hesistaing, breathing heavily and quickly, and Revan was starting to grow impatient. “Connix, this needs to happen now. Chop, chop. Or, you get to help digging ALL of their graves, and the graves of everyone else I will take you to watch die. It will be on _you.”_

Connix stuttered. “It—it…could…be me. It could be me…let me take my…you can take my…” Oh Connix, the dear…

“No, that won’t work, because then you won’t learn. OF COURSE, you’d rather take your own arm that that of a child’s. Who wouldn’t? That would be getting off easy, which you…are most certainly not. This is the only way.” Revan stood up again and crossed his arms. “Connix, pick up the axe. Now.”

Still nothing, as Connix looked blank faced and still breathing hard. Revan rolled his eyes. Oh, for his mother’s sake…

“I know you’re new to this whole ‘tough decision’ thing, but NOT making a decision…is a PRETTY DAMN BIG DECISION, DARLING!” Revan threatened. “Do you WANT to watch all these people die today? You will see every gory little detail of the last moment of their lives, thanks to you.”

Revan hoped that would spur her up, but no, she still looked like a frightened lothcat. Revan just sighed at this…defeated lady. He hoped a little bit that she had some more fire in her than THIS, but no, she just broke down pretty quickly. Shame, really.

“Oh my god, are you going to make me count? You really…alright, Connix, you win. I…am…COUNTING! THREE!” Revan began, causing a dam to burst within Connix as she cried out, snot coming out of her nose and tears rolling out of her eyes.

Pathetic. His father could do this. Hell, he’s probably done _worse to nicer people._

“PLEASE! PLEASE, NO! YOU CAN’T…I CAN’T DO THIS!!” Connix begged, but it was futile as Revan continued counting.

“TWO!”

Connix was still blubbering like a baby, which was just embarrassing. So, being the nice, helpful man that he is, Revan knelt down and slapper her back to reality for a second, along with grabbing her face and making her look straight at him. “Hey. This. This is it. Either I get an arm, or you get a graveyard filled with your friends. It’s time.” He let go of her face, and backed away. He began counting again. “THREE!”

Connix still cried, but she grabbed the axe and held the girl’s arm. The girl was scared, but didn’t look away from the sorrowful commander. “Please, just do it. Do it for my people, and yours.” She asked bravely. Connix’s heart felt like it was going to break into a thousand pieces.

“TWO!”

Connix slowly lifted the axe as high as she could, angling it like Revan suggested as to reduce the pain it may cause. The troopers and Knights all had their weapons ready, trained on their captives if Connix failed to do the impossible.

Connix breathed deeply and quickly, and said a silent prayer to the Force to forgive her…

“ONE!”

With a resigned yell, the axe came down…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Here is a new chapter. Now...if any of you recognize this torture scene from a certain TV show, then yes: it was intentional XD! I think it was a very effective scene! As always, leave a comment and I'll see you next time!


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